Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, you have psearched me and known me!
2 You qknow when I sit down and when I rise up;
you rdiscern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, syou know it altogether.
5 You them me in, behind and before,
and ulay your hand upon me.
6 vSuch knowledge is wtoo wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 xWhere shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where yshall I flee from your presence?
8 zIf I ascend to heaven, you are there!
aIf I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall blead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, c“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 deven the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you eformed my inward parts;
you fknitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.1
gWonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 hMy frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in ithe depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your jbook were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your kthoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 lIf I would count them, they are more than mthe sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would nslay the wicked, O God!
O omen of blood, pdepart from me!
20 They qspeak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies rtake your name in vain.2
21 sDo I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not tloathe those who urise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
vTry me and know my thoughts!3
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
2 eNow when John heard fin prison about the deeds of gthe Christ, he sent word by hhis disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you ithe one who is to come, or shall we jlook for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 kthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers1 are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and lthe poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who mis not offended by me.”
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ninto the wilderness to see? oA reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man2 dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? pA prophet?3 Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,
q“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 rFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,4 and the violent take it by force. 13 rFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is sElijah who is to come. 15 tHe who has ears to hear,5 let him hear.
16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
17 “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
18 For John came uneither eating vnor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came weating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, xa friend of ytax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”6
